A property abstract is a collection of legal documents which chronicles activities associated with a particular parcel of land. Generally included are references to deeds, mortgages, wills, probate records, court litigations and tax sales. Basically, an abstract includes all essential legal documents that affect the property.

The abstract will also show the names of all property owners and how long a particular holder owned it for as well as showing the price the land was exchanged for when it changed owners.